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I have no experience with the dynamic king but my renzetti traveler has been doing a great job since I got it over 10 years ago. I've tied on hooks size 22 to 10/0 but above a 6/0 or 7/0 it starts to lose gripping power. Still it does a good job. Never found myself wanting or needing something else.

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My Renzetti Traveler finally let me down after about 15 years of tying from #10’s through 8/0. The little thumb screw that adjusts grip size got stretched and wouldn’t grip tightly around the bigger size hooks. The fix was to drill and tap for a new hardware store thumb screw in size 10-32. Back in business, maybe better than before. Overall I’ve been happy with this vise. I did make a heavier base out of a piece of scrap steel that I glued some felt to the bottom.

Before that I used one of those cheap vises that came with 3 sets of jaws. The jaws wore where the hooks seat and the pins holding the cam together bent and stretched over the loads. Before that I used a needle-nosed vise grip welded to a steel rod. The Renzetti was a big move up for me. I couldn’t justify the extra money for the DynaKing, but I’m sure it’s a wonderful vise. The bottom line is “Just hold the hook.”

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I don't have either the Traveler or Junior versions of these vices but do use their big brothers. Dynaking all the way for any saltwater flies tied from about #2 and upwards, positive locking of the hook and good material support for long flies without resorting to any addons. Renzetti is a great vice which I prefer for smaller trout flies and bonefish flies. For travelling I took a Danica Danvise which is lightweight and you can get a Clouser extension for it, did the job well and nice and cheap.

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My Renzetti Traveler finally let me down after about 15 years of tying from #10’s through 8/0. The little thumb screw that adjusts grip size got stretched and wouldn’t grip tightly around the bigger size hooks. The fix was to drill and tap for a new hardware store thumb screw in size 10-32. Back in business, maybe better than before. Overall I’ve been happy with this vise. I did make a heavier base out of a piece of scrap steel that I glued some felt to the bottom.

Before that I used one of those cheap vises that came with 3 sets of jaws. The jaws wore where the hooks seat and the pins holding the cam together bent and stretched over the loads. Before that I used a needle-nosed vise grip welded to a steel rod. The Renzetti was a big move up for me. I couldn’t justify the extra money for the DynaKing, but I’m sure it’s a wonderful vise. The bottom line is “Just hold the hook.”

I could see this happening but I would have contacted Renzetti for the "fix" rather than my hardware store. Glad it worked out for you but I feel, with a Renzetti vice priced even at entry level, Renzetti is always willing to help out, IM experience.

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I have used both of these vises and prefer the Renzetti. They each have their place and are of high quality craftsmanship. However, the reason I prefer the Renzetti is that it does not have a hook groove in the jaws as the DynaKing does. It became obvious to me early on in my tying that there were some hook types (because of bend) that would not fit into the groove such that the hook shank rest horizontal with the tying surface. The hook would ride slightly pointed up and I was not satisfied as it eliminated the true rotary feature of the vise. Renzetti does not have this groove.

In the market for a new vise, I revisited my biases against the DynaKing line believing that I might have outgrown my early dysfunctional tying abilities. But alas, I found that I could not get my fly tying groove on because of...wait for it...the grooves in the jaws. That said, I went in a completely different direction with a new vise with a Norvise. Couldn't be happier. But, my Father has a DynaKing Barracuda and he LOVES it light years over his old Renzetti traveler. So, I think it boils down to slight differences in personal preferences. The BEST piece of ad-vise (see what I did there?) I could offer would be to go somewhere where there are these two different vises (maybe a club tying nite) or to a friend to borrow one, then the other, and tie on them a lot to see which one you prefer. Regardless, I am sure you could buy either, the best model your money can afford, and you will be satisfied.

So, no matter which brand you end up going with (or if some other not previously considered), please share your tying creations with us here on the FTF!

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My first real vice was the Renzetti 29+ years ago and I still have it and love it but seven years ago I switched to dyna king and I’ll never go back. I’ve never had the problem mentioned above (hook shank not parallel to ground/table). I’m a commercial Tyler and I’ve tied pike, musky, stripers, bluefish, snook, tarpon, GT, milkfish, peacock bass, salmon, and trout flies.

i think it’s the best vice on the market.

i also think the story on how i choice it is a cool story.

i was close with Chris Helms, and I was unsure which vice I wanted. Renzetti master or dyna king indexer. Chris was one of the most generous people I’ve ever met. He said it’s real simple, I’ll charge you for one of them ( they were $20 apart back then) but I’ll send both to you. Keep them both for a month or two and keep the one you like. After 2-3 weeks I sent the Renzetti back and haven’t tied on my personal Renzetti either.

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"i was close with Chris Helms, and I was unsure which vice I wanted. Renzetti master or dyna king indexer. Chris was one of the most generous people I’ve ever met. He said it’s real simple, I’ll charge you for one of them ( they were $20 apart back then) but I’ll send both to you. Keep them both for a month or two and keep the one you like. After 2-3 weeks I sent the Renzetti back and haven’t tied on my personal Renzetti either."

That was nice of Chris . He was a good guy . Kind of people you miss !

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"i was close with Chris Helms, and I was unsure which vice I wanted. Renzetti master or dyna king indexer. Chris was one of the most generous people I’ve ever met. He said it’s real simple, I’ll charge you for one of them ( they were $20 apart back then) but I’ll send both to you. Keep them both for a month or two and keep the one you like. After 2-3 weeks I sent the Renzetti back and haven’t tied on my personal Renzetti either."

That was nice of Chris . He was a good guy . Kind of people you miss !

I've owned the master, regal revo, and dk indexer. I really wanted to like the renzetti, they're a local company and they do a lot for our community, but it wasn't meant to be. I'm a heavy handed tyer, and the renzetti lacked weight and tenacity, and the teflon bushings and tension screw really bugged me. The regal was great, but not very versatile. I was faced with the dilemma of either buying a new set of 250$ jaws just for a few dozen #6's & 8's I tie for juvi tarpon, or owning a second vise. I ended up buying the DK indexer, and in the past 7-8 years it's never let me down. I use the regal for tying jigs, it collects dust for about 360 days of the year.